The Audiophile Choice

Monthly Archives: August 2012

What does ”Bit Perfect” mean? The term is used to describe a particular quality of computer-based audio playback. Your music files contain a digital representation of the music. To play them back, the files have to be opened, the contents read and decoded, and the musical data delivered to the playback device. It sounds straightforward, but computers were not designed primarily for audiophiles. Most computers end up doing some sort of processing to the digital data stream (volume control, for example) en route to sending it to your playback device. The data that arrives at the playback device (the “Bits” in computer-speak) is often not the same as the data that was originally encoded in the file. For audiophiles this inevitably results in a small, but significant, loss of fidelity. Playback systems that deliver a bit-for-bit identical copy of the originally encoded music data to the playback device are said to be “Bit Perfect”. Until recently, it was considered that “Bit Perfect” playback was the only requirement necessary to guarantee the sound quality. We now understand that things are far from that simple.

BitPerfect Sound was founded with the aim of providing state-of-the-art solutions for the playback of computer-based audio at the highest possible quality. Our core product, BitPerfect, runs on the Mac platform, which we consider to offer the best playback option today in terms of the highest attainable sound quality. BitPerfect is used by owners of some of the highest quality – and most expensive – audio reproduction equipment around the world. Yet BitPerfect is among the lowest-cost high-end audio solutions available anywhere.

BitPerfect and BitPerfection

There are two versions of BitPerfect for Mac currently available. The base version is just called BitPerfect and is only available for purchase directly from the Apple App store (click Here.) BitPerfect is the product platform with which we aim to deliver the broadest appeal with the least complexity, and the most interesting convenience features. Our most advanced version, called BitPerfection, is only sold via this web site. BitPerfection is the product platform with which we aim to deliver the most progressive cutting-edge experience, using technologies which Apple does not permit to be sold via their App store.

BitPerfection builds upon the core of BitPerfect. Although BitPerfect is designed as an audiophile product, its simplicity has widened its appeal to a broad category of non-audiophile users. As we add more and more dedicated audiophile features, these features become progressively less interesting to the broader community. BitPerfection is aimed squarely at those users for whom their Mac is a dedicated computer audio source. As the capabilities of our proprietary 64-bit audio engine grow, so they operate at progressively deeper levels of the Mac’s operating system core. For example, these capabilities have now enabled us to implement native Integer Mode under Apple’s Lion and Mountain Lion operating systems. Without BitPerfection, Integer Mode can only be accessed using the older Snow Leopard operating system. We are firm believers in Integer Mode, and strongly advocate all serious audiophiles to audition BitPerfection’s Integer Mode under Mountain Lion.